The City of Oak Harbor may grow by 16.73 acres soon.

Members of the City Council approved Tuesday night a proposed intent to annex property adjacent to Fort Nugent Road in the southwest area of the city.

The land is within the urban growth area and would be zoned R-1, which is single-family residential.

The annexation process was initiated by Valley High Investments Inc., which owns 3.91 acres. The rest of the property is owned by Virginia Aos, Winnifred Kotschwar and Alan Lynn, according to the city.

The council’s action doesn’t finalize the annexation, but authorizes the proponent to circulate a petition for signatures representing not less than 60 percent of the assessed value of the proposed annexation area.

The Fire Department was the only city agency to register concerns about the annexation. The department noted that continued residential development in the southwest quadrant of the city makes it difficult for firefighters to maintain acceptable response times.